Now discontinued & only seen in auctions for close to £200, this double rye is matured in oak barrels originally used to age two different types of wine. Californian Vermouth Barrels & Californian Qupé Syrah barrels.
The original Yippee Ki-Yay was a marriage of two straight rye whiskies aged from 2 to 16 years. Batches 19C20–19C27 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP 53% rye, 37% corn, 10% barley from Barton 80% rye, 20% malted rye from High West Distillery.
Appearance: A lovely oaky brown/orange. Many short medium legs quickly form from the thin to medium swirl mark. A pretty dense film clings to the glass.
Nose: A good ABV hit. Red berries, Christmas spices, orange peel and pepper-dusted cherries. Stewed forest fruit brown sugar sprinkled pie. Buttery pastry and rhubarb. A minty fresh aroma builds now, along with a slightly more vegetal note, which adds some balance.
Palate: Semi viscous but an immediate pleasing berry sweet fruit hit, like boiled sweets. There are some gentle Christmas spices and black pepper, but the sweetness is dominating. Cherry soothers and honey flavours are particularly lovely in this whiskey. The spice element slowly intensifies but doesn’t build to anything overpowering. Towards the finish, there are some classic bourbon flavours: oak, vanilla and honey.
Finish: The berry and spice linger for a short while, with a very faint tannic drying.
Overall: It’s a banger of a whiskey. Love the berry sweetness burst and the gentle spices. It’s a really friendly and satisfying dram.
